Loading mechanism of disk player

ABSTRACT

A thin slide disk loading mechanism is provided.  
     A turntable  36  itself is fixed in external dimensions of a brushless spindle motor, and a chucking face relevant to a disk  11  is precisely placed on a turntable base  46  with a predetermined height. On the turntable base  46,  columns  47  are embedded in three directions on a circumference which surrounds the outer periphery of the turntable  36.  A column tip end stepped portion  47   b  and a disk placement face  36   a  of the turntable  36  are precisely constructed in predetermined dimensions. When the column tip end stepped portion  47   b  abuts against a bottom face (a reference face L) of a drive board  15,  a relative position between the disk placement face  36   a  of the turntable  36  and a pickup constructed while the bottom face of the drive board  15  is defined as a reference is precisely determined.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a disk player for reproducing anoptical disk signal including CD, LD, DVD, etc. More particularly, thepresent invention relates to a mechanism for automatically carrying aninserted disk to a turntable to align its center, and then, chucking thedisk in a reproducible state.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] When one disk to be reproduced is manually inserted into aninsert port, automatic operation is carried out from carrying to aturntable to clamping. After the end of reproduction, in a disk playerfor ejecting the disk by automatic operation, a clamper must bepositioned upwardly via a gap from a disk top face so as not tointerface with a disk face basically in a process for injecting orejecting the disk. In addition, the turntable must be positioned lowerthan a disk bottom face so that a center projection engaging with thedisk does not inhibit invasion of the disk bottom face.

[0003] In addition, a guide for guiding insertion or ejection of thedisk and a roller for supplying power for carrying the disk must comeinto contact with the disk face during disk movement, and a gap must beprovided between the guide or roller and the disk during reproduction.Further, in order to interrupt external vibration, some gap must beensured in the vertical direction of the disk face in consideration ofthe fact that an apparatus is set in a floating state.

[0004] Therefore, means for providing a gap at the top and the bottom ofthe disk is proposed. For example, an embodiment of inserting a disk Dinto a fixed turntable 21 is disclosed in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-open No. 58-45659.

[0005] In addition, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.10-199095, there is disclosed an embodiment of fixing the height forinserting a disk 12, and then, vertically turning a turntable 71 and adisk clamp arm 73 around a hinge 74 during insertion to open them in ahinged manner. Otherwise, there are disclosed embodiments of fixing aposition of a loading carriage roller or a fixing an upper face guideplate.

[0006] Basically, the disk is pinched between a roller which rotates tocarry the disk at the time when the disk is inserted and a flat guideface. Then, the pinched disk is chucked by a turntable at a position atwhich the center of the disk is aligned with the rotary shaft of theturntable. In a state in which the disk can rotate together with theturntable, the roller and the guide face are relatively spaced from eachother so that a gap is provided between the roller or guide and the diskface, whereby stable rotating movement for the disk must be obtained.Thus, it is mandatory to ensure a gap in the thickness directionrelevant to the disk.

[0007] However, for a disk player which is used for a car or whichfunctions while it is incorporated in a computer, a market requirescompact design with space reduction and light weight, high reliabilitydue to simplified structure, and low price. Planar dimensions parallelto the disk face cannot be reduced to be equal to or smaller than theexternal diameters of the disk. In addition, in order to maintain thestrength of parts and ensure the durability of products, dimensionalreduction of composite elements is limited. The dimensions in thethickness direction vertical to the disk face is reduced by aconstruction of the loading mechanism, thereby meeting the requirements.

[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a diskloading mechanism which is reliably actuated, the disk loading mechanismbeing applied to a disk player with its low cost having minimized thedimensions in the thickness direction with a simplified construction.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0009] In order to achieve the above described object, a disk playerloading mechanism according to the present invention is characterized inthat a reference face for setting the disk setting face of a turntableis defined as one face of a drive board on which a pickup is installed;and the turntable is moved from a standby position, and is chucked at adisk reproduction position at which the disk is set from the referenceface parallel to a predetermined interval in cooperation with anotherdisk clamp separately provided. The turntable is formed integrally witha brushless spindle motor, and can move independent of the pickup.

[0010] In addition, the disk is automatically carried from the insertport onto the turntable by means of a carriage mechanism driven by themotor. The turntable is mechanically moved at the same time when thedisk is carried. The carriage mechanism comprises disk pinching meanswhich cooperates with at least one roller. These elements move to aposition spaced from the disk or a position at which the disk is pinchedtogether with a chucking operation or a standby movement of theturntable and disk clamp. Moreover, all of the disk chucking orreleasing operation by the turntable and disk clamp and the diskpinching or spacing operations by the disk pinching means areinterlocked with sliding of a cam formed on a single slide plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an entirety of a diskplayer including a disk player loading mechanism according to thepresent invention;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a schematic side view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG.1, wherein (a) shows a state in which the disk is carried, and (b) showsa state in which the disk is chucked;

[0013]FIG. 3 shows a carriage mechanism portion in the disk playerloading mechanism according to the present invention, wherein (a) showsan aspect in which the disk is carried after being pinched, and (b) is aside view showing an aspect spaced from the disk;

[0014]FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an operation of a disk carriageroller in a disk player loading mechanism according to the presentinvention, wherein (a) shows a mode in which the disk is pinched, and(b) is a side view showing an aspect spaced from the disk in a partiallyenlarged manner;

[0015]FIG. 5 is a enlarged plan view illustrating a portion at which theturntable is actuated in the disk player loading mechanism according tothe present invention;

[0016]FIG. 6 is a schematic side view taken in the line 6-6 of FIG. 5 inan enlarged manner, wherein (a) shows a state in which the disk ininserted, and (b) shows a state in which the disk is chucked;

[0017]FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view illustrating a relationshipbetween a slide rack and a slide plate in the disk player loadingmechanism according to the present invention, wherein (a) shows a statein which relative movement is possible, and (b) shows a state in whichthe integrated movement is made; and

[0018]FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view illustrating a relationshipbetween a slide rack and a drive board of the slide plate in the diskplayer loading mechanism according to the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INTENTION

[0019] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention willbe described with reference to the accompanying drawings showing oneembodiment of a disk player loading mechanism according to the presentinvention. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the entirety of thedisk player including the loading mechanism according to the presentinvention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view taken along the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are illustrative views of a carriagemechanism. FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating essential portions of aturntable in an enlarged manner. For clarity, sectional views or partialomissions are made in the above drawings. In addition, a moving positionof structural components are indicated by double dotted chain line asrequired.

[0020] In FIG. 1, a disk player 10 in a standby state is indicated bythe solid line, and a disk 11 indicated at its insert position by thesolid line is carried and chucked at its position indicated by doubledotted chain line by actuation of a carriage mechanism. When the disk 11is chucked at its predetermined position, a clamp ring 12 rotatablyengaged with a clamp arm 14 with play via a clamp plate spring 13 bringsthe disk 11 into pressure contact with a turntable face 36 a with springelasticity of the plate spring 13. The side view of this aspect is shownin FIG. 2.

[0021] A tensile coil spring 16 is provided in a tensile manner betweenthe clamp arm 14 and the drive board 15, and the clamp arm 14 is biaseddownwardly (in the direction of the drive board 15). A part of the clamparm 14 is bent downwardly in the vicinity of the tensile coil spring 16to form a cam follower 17; the biasing force of the tensile coil spring16 is supported by a first cam face 18 a protruded on a slide plate 18;and the clamp ring 12 is held at its upper standby position at theopening position of the clamp arm 14 (refer to FIG. 2(a)).

[0022] A shift bar 19 can slide a long groove 20 provided at the clamparm 14 to a guide in the vertical direction in the figure (in thedirection indicated by the arrow F-R), and moves in parallel due toinward engagement of two guide pins 19 a embedded at a position spacedalong the long groove 20. In addition, an erected piece 19 b foldeddownwardly at a right angle is formed at both ends of the shift bar 19,and abuts against an outer periphery edge C of the advancing disk 11.

[0023] A startup arm 21 can be turned around the embedded swivel shaft22. The swivel shaft 22 is slidably engaged into a straight groove 23 ofthe clamp arm 14. The straight groove 23 is punched in the verticaldirection (in the direction indicated by the arrow B) relevant to theadvancement direction of the disk 11, and the startup arm 21 can slidein the transverse direction along the straight groove 23. A coupling pin19 erected at the center of two guide pins 19 a of the shift bar 19 isslidably engaged into a long hole 21 b punched at a first protrusion end21 a of one of the startup arms 21.

[0024] In addition, a tensile coil spring 24 is provided in a tensilemanner between the startup arm 21 and the clamp arm 14, and the startuparm 21 is biased in the clockwise direction in the figure. Further, atthe startup arm 21, a cam follower pin 25 is embedded at thesubstantially intermediate part between the end of the long hole 21 band the swivel shaft 22; abuts against a front edge 26 a of an inscribedcam 26 punched at the clamp arm 14; supports the biasing force of thetensile coil spring 24; and restricts turning movement of the startuparm 21. Further, a slide rack 27 interlocking the above mentioned slideplate 18 is moved to be pushed at a second protrusion end 21 cpositioned at the opposite side of the first protrusion end 21 a whilethe swivel shaft 22 of the startup arm 21 is pinched, whereby a linkportion 28 for starting up a chucking operation of the disk 11 isformed.

[0025] On the other hand, a roller 30 incorporated into the carriagemechanism 29 pinches or spaces the disk 11 from both faces, interlockingwith a top face guide plate 31 which guides the disk 11 in substantiallyparallel to the turntable face. That is, the disk 11 is pinched betweenthe roller 30 and the top face guide plate 31 in a proximal position,and is carried in the vertical direction in the figure (in the directionindicated by the arrow F-R). In addition, a printed circuit wiring board33 including a photo sensor 32 for sensing insertion and ejection of thedisk 11 is arranged at the top face of the top face guide plate 31. Whenthe sensor senses insertion of the disk 11, a drive motor 34 starts up.Then, the motor interlocks a gear 35 a directly connected to a rotaryshaft 31 a of the roller 30 via a gear train 35, and rotates the roller30 in the direction in which the disk 11 is fed to the turntable 36.

[0026] The slide rack 27 guided to engagement portions 37 a, 37 b andcoupled with the slide plate 18 so that relative movement is possible ina predetermined distance is biased in the direction spaced from a drivepinion 39 by a tensile coil spring 38 provided in a tensile mannerbetween the rack and the slide plate 18 (refer to FIG. 7). The slideplate 18 can slide along the lower face of the drive board 15 in theforward or the backward direction parallel to the direction in which thedisk moves to cut pieces 15 a, 15 b, 15 c, and 15 d of the drive board15 (refer to FIG. 8). Thus, in the present embodiment, a rotation faceof the drive pinion 39, i.e., a side face defining the thickness of theslide rack 27 is arranged so as to be parallel to the drive board 15,thereby reducing the dimensions in the thickness direction.

[0027] A link portion 28 provided at the end of the startup arm 21 isopposed to an end 27 a at the depth side (in the direction indicated bythe arrow F) of the slide rack 27. The link portion 28 abuts against theend 27 a of the slide rack 27 by a swiveling operation of the startuparm 21 which turns together with the shift bar 19 moved to be pushedagainst the disk 11. Then, the slide rack 27 is relatively moved to thefrontal side (direction indicated by the arrow R) on the slide plate 18,and the tooth portion 27 b is moved to be pushed against a positiongeared with the drive pinion 39. That is, as shown in FIG. 7(a), theslide plate 18 abuts against a bent site 40 b of a crank shaped camgroove 40 (indicated by the double dotted chain line) on which a camfollower 41 protruded laterally via a plate spring 42 is punched on thedrive board 15. Thus, the slide rack 27 moved to be pushed against thelink portion 28 moves relatively to the slide plate 18 against thebiasing force while extending the tensile coil spring 38 provided in atensile manner between the rack and the slide plate 18 (refer to FIG.7(b)).

[0028] The slide rack 27 engages the cam follower 41 into a recess 44 ofthe slide plate 18 at an integrally formed action piece 43 while a toothportion 27 b is close to the drive pinion 39. At the same time, the bentsite 40 b is released, and is advanced into an inductive groove 40 a ofthe crank shaped cam groove 40. While the tooth portion 27 b of theslide rack 27 is driven by engagement with the drive pinion 39, the camfollower 41 holds engagement with the recess 44 by means of theconstrain of the inductive groove 40 a. In this manner, in the sliderack 27, an integrally provided stopper 27 c is engagingly locked withthe cam follower 41, and a position relative to the slide plate 18 isfixed and integrally moved while the tensile coil spring 38 is held inan extended state (refer to FIG. 7(b)). The slide plate 18 actuates alimit switch (not shown) at a maximum stroke position, and stopsrotation of the drive pinion 39.

[0029] When the drive pinion 39 is inverted, the tooth portion 27 b ofthe slide rack 27 synchronizes with a position at which gearing with thedrive pinion 39 is released. Then, the cam follower 41 reaches the bentsite 40 b of the crank shaped cam groove 40, and the constraint isreleased. Here, the stopper 27 c of the slide rack pushes the camfollower 41 from a recess 44 in cooperation with the plate spring 42,and releases the engagingly locked state.

[0030] The slide rack 27 is forcibly moved in the direction spaced fromthe drive pinion 39, e.g., in the upward direction in the figure (in thedirection indicated by the arrow F) by the contraction force of thetensile coil spring 38. Then, the slide rack returns to its initialstate completely spaced from the drive pinion 39. A plurality of camsare formed on the slide plate 18. The cam followers engaged with therespective cams are interlocked with each other by reciprocatingactuation of the slide plate 18, and movements of the clamp arm 14, thetop face guide plate 31, the roller 30, and the turntable 36 arecontrolled.

[0031] As described previously, the clamp arm 14 rises or lowersaccording to the advancement or retraction (in the direction indicatedby the arrow F-R) of the slide plate 18 while the downwardly extendingcam follower 17 keeps in slide contact with the first cam face 18 aprotruded on the slide plate 18. The roller 30 is rotatably supported bythe roller arm 30 a on which the rotary shaft 31 a is formed bydownwardly folding both ends of a transverse column 31 b. In addition,the roller arm 30 a is rotatable around the support shaft 30 b, andeither of the cam followers 45 a and 45 b extended by folding ribs atthe front and the rear edges of the transverse column 31 b is pushed upby the advancement and retraction (in the direction indicated by thearrow F-R) of the second cam face 18 b protruded on the slide plate 18.The roller 30 rises up to a predetermined position by pushup of the camfollower 45 a, pinches the disk 11 by the spring action (not shown), andis spaced from the disk 11 by pushup of the cam follower 45 b (refer toFIG. 2 to FIG. 4).

[0032] A loading mechanism of a disk player 10 according to the presentinvention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG.6. A turntable 36 itself is defined externally of a brushless spindlemotor, and a top face on which the disk 11 is chucked is preciselyplaced on a turntable base 46 with a predetermined height. On theturntable base 46, columns 47 are embedded respectively in threedirections on a circumference which surrounds the outer periphery of theturntable 36.

[0033] Planes defined by convergent stepped portions 47 b of the threecolumns 47 are parallel to a disk placement face 36 a of the turntable36, and the interval in the height direction is precisely finished inpredetermined dimensions. Therefore, when the convergent stepped portion17 b at the tip end of the column abuts against the lower face(reference face L) of the drive board 15, a relative position betweenthe disk placement face 36 a of the turntable 36 and a pickup (notshown) is precisely determined in predetermined dimensions.

[0034] Namely, a pickup running face is configured by specifying thebottom face of the drive board 15 on the reference face L. Only theturntable 36 is elevated singly while the disk placement face 36 a setby this reference face L is defined as the upper limit. That is, anoperating portion does not cover the entire pickup mechanism. Thus,there is no need to ensure a wide space as a movement gap, and a compactconstruction can be achieved because such a movement space is notprovided. In addition, unstable elements are eliminated because theentire pickup mechanism is not moved, and the strength or precision canbe improved. Further, movement power is unnecessary, and thus, a powermechanism installation space can be reduced.

[0035] Both ends of the turntable base 46 configure a support face incooperation with a horizontal extension portion 46 a protruded at bothsides via a vertical step formed in a crank shape by folding them twice.The outer periphery of the three columns 47 embedded on the turntablebase 46 is guided in the vertical direction relevant to a disk face bythe internal diameter of a column guide 48. Then, the converged tip end47 a is inserted into a through hole 15 f punched at the oppositeposition of the drive board, and the convergent stepped portion 47 b isabutted against the reference face L at the bottom face of the driveboard 15, whereby the position in the height direction relevant to thebottom face of the disk 11 can be determined.

[0036] A slight turn is permitted so that horizontal extension portion46 a formed by bending both ends of the turntable base 46 is supportedat free ends of an elevation arm 50 turnably supported on a supportshaft 49 of a cut bracket 15 e of the drive board 15, and then, theturntable base 46 is positioned in parallel to the reference face L.That is, two arms 50 a and 50 b are formed at both ends of the elevationarm 50; the horizontal extension portion 46 a at both ends of theturntable base 46 supports the turntable base 46 from below by theelastic arm 50 a to which elasticity is applied; and an actuation arm 50b free of elastic deformation abuts against a motor mount face 46 binside of the vertical step from above, and supports the mount face.

[0037] A cam follower 50 e protruded in the horizontal direction fromthe free end 50 d of the actuation arm 50 c protruded outside of theelevation arm 50 engages with the crank shaped cam groove 18 c formed tocommunicate with the grooves at the two top end bottom steps of theslide plate 18. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 2(b), theelevation arm 50 turns vertically (in the direction indicated by thearrow U-D) together with the forward or the backward direction (thedirection indicated by the arrow F-R) of the slide plate 18. The crankshaped cam groove 18 c is defined by smaller steps. When the camfollower 50 e moves to the highest step, the elasticity of the elasticarm 50 a brings the turntable base 46 into pressure contact with thereference face L via the three columns 47. The elastic support force ofthe elastic arm 50 a acted here is sufficiently greater than thecompression force caused by the clamp ring 12 on the face of the diskface 11, and the turntable base 46 is not displaced by a chuckingoperation.

[0038] As a result, on the turntable base 46, three embedded columns 47are vertically guided relevant to the reference face L by the columnguide 48, and the tip end face is brought into pressure contact with thereference face L by the biasing force of the elastic arm 50 a. The faceof the turntable 36 moves in parallel to the bottom face of the disk 11,and is aligned with a precise relational position with a pickup (notshown). The three columns 47 position the disk 11 on a stable planedetermined by supporting three points. At this time, the actuation arm50 b is slightly spaced from the motor mount face 46 b, and is lifted toa height free from interference with the pressure contact action causedby the elastic arm 50 a.

[0039] Now, an operation of a loading mechanism of the disk player 10will be described here. When the disk 11 is inserted through a diskinsert port 52 of the disk player 10 which is in a standby state, adrive motor 34 sensed by a disk detection photo sensor 32 is started up,and a roller 30 starts its rotation. The disk 11 is horizontally guidedwhile its bottom face comes into slide contact with a bottom face of thetop face guide plate 31 by the drive force caused by friction inabutment against the outer periphery face of the roller 30, and is fedto the turntable 36.

[0040] In the disk 11 fed by the roller 30, when the outer peripheryfront edge C abuts against an erected piece 19 b folded at both ends ofa shift bar 19, the shift bar 19 is moved to be pushed in the upwarddirection in the figure (in the direction indicated by the arrow F)along a long groove 20 by the drive force transmitted from the roller30. By this operation, a connection pin 19 c erected by the shift bar 19and engaged into a long hole 21 b of a startup arm 21 turns the startuparm 21 around the swivel shaft 22 while sliding the internal wall of thelong hole 21 b. The startup arm 21 is swiveled while being subjected torestriction of an arc shaped cam portion 26 b for guiding the embeddedcam follower pin 25. Then, the link portion 28 is abutted against a rearside end 27 a of the slide rack 27, and the slide rack 27 is relativelymoved to the frontal side (in the direction indicated by the arrow R) onthe slide plate 18, and then, is moved to be pushed to the positiongeared with the drive pinion 39. Although the drive pinion 39 is startedup at the same time when the roller 30 is rotated, the timing of gearwith the slide rack 27 is controlled by a position at which the shiftbar 19 is moved.

[0041] When the cam follower pin 25 reaches the engagingly lockedposition 26 c, turning movement of the startup arm 21 is inhibited.Then, movement of the disk 11 biasing turning movement via the shift bar19 is inhibited. At this position, the biasing force of the tensile coilspring 24 is acted with the startup arm 21, the cam follower pin 25 islocked at the lead-in position of a pocket 26 d, and the position of thedisk 11 is determined by the shift bar 19. By chucking operation of theclamp arm 14, the disk 11 subjected to slanting action of a tapered boss36 b at the center of the turntable 36 is moved to its aligned position,whereby the outer periphery front edge C of the disk 11 is spaced fromthe erected piece 19 b, and is released from its aligned state in theforegoing pushing and moving operation. Then, stable rotation isobtained at the disk 11.

[0042] At the slide rack 27, the drive force is transmitted by means ofgear with the drive pinion 39 caused by the downward movement in thefigure (in the direction indicated by the arrow R), and the slide plate18 is actuated in the same direction. The first cam face 18 a on whichthe cam follower 17 of the clamp arm 14 is placed is removed by movementof the slide plate 18. The clamp arm 14 is lowered due to the biasingforce of the tensile coil spring 16, and the disk 11 is chucked on theturntable 36 by the clamp ring 12. On the other hand, the transversecolumn cam followers 45 a and 45 b coming into slide contact with thesecond cam face 18 b are interlocked with each other; and the top faceguide plate 31 and the roller 30 are moved in the direction spaced fromthe disk 11, thereby releasing the disk 11 that has been pinchedtherebetween. Further, the cam follower 50 e protruded in the horizontaldirection from the elevation arm 50 for supporting the turntable base 46is lifted at the upper stage of the crank shaped cam groove 18 c, andthe top face of the turntable 36 is brought into contact with the lowerface of the disk 11.

[0043] Now, an operation for ejecting the disk having terminatedreproduction will be described here. At the end of reproduction, a drivepinion 39 is inverted by switching operation of an electric circuit (notshown), and the slide rack 27 is moved in the upward direction in thefigure (in the direction indicated by the arrow F). The cams 18 a, 18 b,and 18 c provided at the slide plate 18 move together with the sliderack 27 in the reverse direction. Thus, the disk 11 is pinched by thetop face guide plate 31 abutting from both of the top and bottom facesand the inverted roller 30, and the clamp arm 14 releases chucking ofthe disk 11. In addition, the cam follower 50 e moves to the lower stageof the crank shaped cam groove 18 c by reverse movement of the slideplate 18. Thus, the elevation arm 50 is lowered, and the turntable 36 isretracted from the bottom face of the disk 11 to the spaced position,and enters its initial standby state. The disk 11 released from chuckingis ejected by the roller 30 rotating in the reverse direction.

[0044] By the upward movement in the figure (in the direction indicatedby the arrow F) of the slide rack 27, a tapered portion 27 d at the rearend of the slide rack comes into contact with the link portion 28 of thestartup arm 21. Further, when the slide rack 27 moves upwardly in thefigure, the startup arm 21 is moved to be pushed to the centraldirection (in the direction indicated by the arrow B) by slanting actionof the tapered portion 27 d. The cam follower pin 25 which constrainsthe startup arm 21 at the engagingly locked position 26 c is pushed outfrom the pocket 26 d. The startup arm 21 is turned in the clockwisedirection by the biasing force of the tensile coil spring 24 provided ina tensile manner between the startup arm and the clamp arm 14, andreturns to its initial standby state.

[0045] At this time, the tooth portion 27 b of the slide rack is set ata position at which gearing with the drive pinion 39 is released. Thecam follower 41 is released from engagement with the inductive groove 40a of the crank shaped cam groove 40, and the stopper 25 c of the sliderack pushes the cam follower 41 out from the recess 44 and releasesengagement. Then, integration between the slide plate 18 and the sliderack 27 is eliminated, and the biasing force of the tensile coil spring38 is effectively acted. Then, the tooth portion 27 b of the slide rack27 is returned to its initial position spaced from the drive pinion 39,and enters its standby state. The completion of ejecting the disk 11 canbe checked by the photo sensor 32.

[0046] Although one embodiment of the disk player loading mechanismaccording to the present invention has been described above, the presentinvention is not limited to the illustrative embodiment. Variousmodifications concerning detailed portions or reconstruction of partscan occur without departing from essential constituent elements of thepresent invention. For example, although a turntable itself has beendefined in external dimensions of a brushless spindle motor, a turntableformed independent of the spindle motor may be pressed into the rotaryshaft of the spindle motor.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0047] As is evident from the foregoing description, in a disk playerloading mechanism according to the present invention, a pickup runningface is specified with a bottom face of a drive board being a referenceface. While a turntable face set by this reference face is defined as anupper limit, a turntable is elevated independent of a pickup. Thus, arelative position relationship between a disk recording face and thepickup can be very precisely maintained by applying a simple and smoothmovement mechanism. In addition, the turntable and motor are integrallyconstructed, and the movement mechanism fully functions by a singleslide plate only. Thus, the entire mechanism can be thinly constructed.

[0048] Further, in a construction for moving only the turntable to thedisk, unlike a construction for moving the entire reproduction mechanismbased on a consideration that precise relative positioning between thepickup and the disk face is not hindered, a pickup movement space can beeffectively used. Moreover, a load or burden on moving the entirereproduction mechanism to the drive motor is eliminated, and powerthereof can be reduced.

1. A disk player loading mechanism, characterized by comprising: when areference face for setting a disk placement face of a turntable isdefined as one face of a drive board on which a pickup is installed,moving the turntable from a standby position; and chucking the disk at adisk reproduction position at which the disk is set in parallel to apredetermined interval from the reference face in cooperation withanother disk clamp separately provided.
 2. A disk player loadingmechanism as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the turntable isformed integrally with a brushless spindle motor, and can be movedindependent of the pickup.
 3. A disk player loading mechanism as claimedin claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the disk is automaticallycarried from an insert port to the turntable by means of a carriagemechanism driven by a motor, and the turntable is mechanically movedtogether with carriage of the disk.
 4. A disk player loading mechanismas claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the carriage mechanismcomprises disk pinching means in cooperation with at least one roller,and these elements move to a position spaced from the disk or a positionat which the disk is pinched, together with chucking operation orstandby operation of the turntable and the disk clamp.
 5. A disk playerloading mechanism as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that all ofthe disk chucking or releasing operation by the turntable and disk clampand the disk pinching or spacing operation by the disk pinching meansare interlocked with sliding of a cam formed on a single slide plate.